Shiner Starless Private 2000/2015

Shiner Starless Private 2000/2015 NO CAT#

This album was originally released as a CD on Owned & Operated Recordings in 2000. It was the third album in the Shiner catalog and I remember having it and being bored by it. I had loved Splay, tolerated Lula Divinia, but didn't have the patience for this album.

Looking back, I was in college when it was released and trying to understand complex subjects in class, I didn't want any complication in my music. I was feeling the lo-fi scene featuring Pavement, power-pop of the late-70's, and punk rock. I didn't have to think about that music, that stuff was plug and play. And, if I did have to concentrate on tunes, it was at KJHK and by the year 2000, post-hardcore had run it's course in the college radio scene. I just thought I had to have some sort of persona. I used to like Shiner, but couldn't anymore. They were like Rush at this point, way too old-man rock.

Looking back, I'm a bit embarrassed by that version of me. I had lot more of my own pretensions than this album has. Sure, it's math-y and each song is like an equation that only makes sense upon it's conclusion, but, its got a lot of depth and emotion to go along with it. Listening to it now, I get why they were big in Chicago and signed to a label owned and operated by post-hardcore darling, Jawbox frontman, J. Robbins. It's cause they were pretty great.

This new reissue was put out by the band themselves, vinyl only on blue/white splattered vinyl. The colored effect does go well with the original artwork which is greatly enhanced by the size of the cover. The pale guy in the suit and crown standing over a skyline looks much more grand staring at a LP jacket versus squinting at the old CD liner. Got to think Shiner may be able to get the rights to give the same treatment to Lula Divinia and Splay at some point. The doors are closed at DeSoto with Dischord only paying attention to the Jawbox catalog. I'd hope J. Robbins is a cool enough guy that he'd just let Shiner do what they want if asked.

SHINER - STARLESS

Shiner Molly McGuire Split Crush B/W Exhaust HitIt! 1994

Shiner Molly McGuire Split Crush B/W Exhaust HitIt! 1994 CAT# HIT-03

Pretty great local 7", featuring two of the finest from KC's post-hardcore scene, Shiner and Molly McGuire. It was pressed on virgin vinyl and serves as an early example of both groups.

Shiner's "Crush" is slow-moving, but has tons of crunchy guitar. It's a bit repetitive in the beginning considering their later work, but it's still got plenty of math-rock charm and takes you all over the place soon enough. Molly McGuire's "Exhaust" opens incredibly with guitars coming in from everywhere. It was early in the band's output and is lot more straightforward than later work, it doesn't try so hard. Just solid in-your-face guitar rock, a bit alterno, but it's cool.

The release was also early-on for the short-lived Chicago HitIt! Records. The sleeve has a great DIY aesthetic as it's just a silk screened onto a cardboard fold-over.

Shiner The Egg DeSoto/Son Of Man 2012 (Repress)

Shiner The Egg DeSoto/Son Of Man 2012 (Repress) CAT #SOM-002

People love this album and swear by it.  However, when it came out in 2001, I could have gave a shit less.  1996, I thought Splay was one of the greatest things I had ever heard.  High school age boys love angry rock music and that fit the bill.  I remember being excited to get my hands on their follow-up, Lula Divinia which was released in 1997.  However, the glow of Splay started to wear off quickly.  The songs become incredibly long and pretentious, shoegazer moments mixed in with odd time signatures and even stranger song structures.  There was nothing immediate on Lula Divinia so you couldn't get sucked into all it.  By 2000 when Starless came out, I really didn't care anymore.  I believe I picked up Starless cheap in a used bin and was even more turned off by it than I was by Lula.

I had completely moved on and forgot about Shiner when The Egg came out in 2001.  I never even picked up.  Then, several years ago I became obsessed with collecting all the locals I once listened to in the 90's on vinyl.  Since then, I've been searching feverishly for a copy of Splay.  I still haven't found it, but last year while searching the internet for it, I discovered that Son of Man did a limited vinyl pressing of  The Egg for the band's reunion tour.  At this point in my local vinyl obsession, I wasn't just trying to collect favorites, I was just obsessed with finding any local artist on vinyl, so I needed this.

Not knowing too much about The Egg, I read up on it pre-purchase.  Damn, if it isn't widely considered the band's masterpiece.  Anxious and worried that the hype was going to ruin this LP for me, I was pleased upon the first listen.  Everything is so crisp and perfect on the album, there are moments that are immediate on it, namely the song "Top of the World," which could easily be mistaken for a Sunny Day Real Estate tune or a Radiohead tune, depending on which aspect you focus on.  But, even at first listen, you sense the band's direction on the LP, there's a definite groove and feel surrounding all the songs.

For the last year or so, I've spun this more than most albums I own.  Every time you put it on, you pick up something new, a nifty guitar riff buried in the background, a reprise to a previous song, a shift you didn't fully grasp the previous spin.  The band had clearly figured it out on this album.  Inevitably, it's still very pretentious with all it's shifts in song structure, but they found a way to make it more accessible.  They focused their efforts on creating a whole LP and experimenting throughout its entirety rather than trying to cram every good idea they had into a single song.  It's an amazing album, complex, and more rewarding after every listen.  If more people would have been listening to it when it was released, it would have reinvented and reinvigorated the then played out angular post-hardcore scene.

Truth About Cows
Top Of the World
Pills

Shiner Sleep It Off b/w Empty Sub Pop 1997

Shiner Sleep It Off b/w Empty Sub Pop 1997 Cat # SP403

Shiner wrote complex post hardcore tunes that feature start stop dynamics, time signature changes, and they were notorious for skipping something pop oriented like a bridge and would often opt to take a song in a whole other direction.  On a local level, similar to what Boys Life and Giants Chair were doing.  On a national level, similar to Quicksand, Failure and bands of that ilk.  Great part about Shiner, is they did play a fairly large national audience in terms of inde-rock.

Splay, their debut album caught people's attention.  I know I loved it back in the day and currently, it's #1 on my vinyl want list.  The band could do the slow math rock thing then jump into full on rock mode at the snap of a finger.  So, listening to their Sub Pop 7" I've always wondered why they didn't lay down a scorcher.  Sleep it Off is great, it moves well but it doesn't have whole lot of energy.  Empty has even less energy and borders on boring.  I mean, here they are, putting out a record on Sub Pop in 1997.  Sub Pop was at their most popular and kids were paying attention.  If they wanted to leap over into the big time, this was it, lay down a hit, y'know?  Don't give me Side 1 song 3, give the opener, get people's attention.